Does anyone do a set menu plan?

amelialoveshersnacks
amelialoveshersnacks Posts: 205 Member
edited November 29 in Recipes

I've never been really rigid about my meals, preferring to eat what I 'feel' like. Of course there are days when I don't know what I feel like so I don't eat at all or I binge on crappy empty food.
Set a fairly loose meal plan last week, didn't like it at all. Done an overhaul. I think I'm gonna like it. Minimal prep, minimal cooking time and most importantly minimal waste.
Breakfast is typically muesli. I'm set at 1200 calories.

Monday
Snack: Blanched broccoli
Lunch: Herbed potatoes
Dinner: Bacon and egg salad
Snack: GF Chocolate brownie

Tuesday
Snack: Paleo muffin
Lunch: Sweet potato salad
Dinner: Turkey Bol. on zucchini pasta
Snack: Mango and yoghurt

Wednesday
Snack: Vege sticks
Lunch: Egg sushi rolls
Dinner: Lambsfry, mash & greens
Snack: Fruit salad

Thursday
Snack: Yoghurt
Lunch: Paleo muffins
Dinner: Turkey kebabs & veges
Snack: Nuts

Friday
Snack: GF Brownie
Lunch: Vege frittata
Dinner: Salmon, spuds & beans
Snack: Fruit salad

I keep the menu on my mirror lol so I pay more attention to it, helps to reiterate that I have a plan. It's a 2 week menu but I want to see how I go with week 1 first.

Weekends will be my downfall as I don't have to be organised, so I will probably get/do some freezer meals.







Replies

  • becca0211
    becca0211 Posts: 250 Member
    I think planning out meals is a big piece of staying on track. I also try to prep dinner on the weekend and sometimes can go a week or two with meals that are all prepared in my freezer! Makes life so much easier. Good luck and I would love to hear how it goes.
  • CasperNaegle
    CasperNaegle Posts: 936 Member
    We definitely prep our meat for the week or a few days. But we have standard things we go to for some meals. We don't track out every day ahead of time. I usually will plan my day that day to get my macros lined out.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I do a menu for evening meals, and enough stuff for a selection of lunches to pick and choose from.
  • cottontailsandcupcakes
    cottontailsandcupcakes Posts: 16 Member
    We do our evening meal plan every week as we are living in a house with 4 adults and a baby at the moment so we need to reach a bit of a middle ground on cooking and foods. We are all dieting though so this makes it easy.

    I have a think the night before about what I'm going to eat the next day for breakfast and lunch though so I don't panic when I look in the cuboard and want to eat it all.
  • Angelfire365
    Angelfire365 Posts: 803 Member
    I painted my pantry door chalkboard so I would stop hearing 'what's for supper?'. My breakfasts and snacks are usually the same Monday through Friday, dinners are pre-planned and lunch is either leftovers or freezer soup I've whipped up the weekend before.
    And weekends are a pain as there is no structure. Working on that.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I don't have a set plan, but I do use an automatic diet menu generator when I don't know what I want or when I don't have the desire to log ingredients separately, so I just prepare whatever is in that menu, eat it, and add the calorie count as quick calories.
  • amelialoveshersnacks
    amelialoveshersnacks Posts: 205 Member
    I put my husband on a diet. He works dayshift and I work afternoon shift. I do as much prep as I can during the day and make our lunches when I get home from work. Eventually I want to go back to the gym which is another reason I want to be super organised.
    A menu generator sounds great.
    And having things ready for those 'nah, don't wanna' days.
    Kinda has me thinking bout my parents. Wednesday fish and chips, Sunday roast night. Mmmm roast night
  • sfechner
    sfechner Posts: 1 Member
    What is a menu generator?
  • elaineamj
    elaineamj Posts: 347 Member
    I started menu planning when I wanted to trim my grocery budget. Then I found it helped me with MFP as well. Win win :)

    I'm not insanely rigid and sometimes do make adjustments to it. But DH was right all these years - it does make it easier when we know what we are going to eat each day.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    sfechner wrote: »
    What is a menu generator?

    A website that generates a random menu from a recipe database based on your desired calories and macros

    https://www.eatthismuch.com/
  • mjwarbeck
    mjwarbeck Posts: 699 Member
    Never have meal plan...but that's me

  • erialcelyob
    erialcelyob Posts: 341 Member
    I regularly plan my meals as I'm super busy and all over the place at university, it makes a huge difference. I think the most important part is making sure it's food you are looking forward to. Like looking at your plan I don't really want to eat that, it doesn't excite me - although it may yourself. If I have a week where I cooked something not so tasty it puts me off. This week I'm having green smoothies for breakfast, chicken wraps for lunch, thai chicken curry for dinner and snacks are yogurts, protein brownies and pears :)
  • amyjane_g
    amyjane_g Posts: 33 Member
    I always find it easier when I plan my meals. I generally get everything ready the night before Mon-Fri and prep my dinner each evening before a workout. It also helps make sure I use up the fresh foods I have in my fridge and also the dry foods in my cupboards that otherwise will just stay there. I also batch cook up a load of meals and freeze them for my busy / lazy days.
    I do think the menu generator will help mix things up a bit as I have a vegan diet which can get a bit 'samey'
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    I preplan lunch and usually I try for breakfast too. By preplan I prep and portion on Sundays :grin: Dinner is a crapshoot, usually a lean cuisine or healthy choice frozen dinner, and the weekends is where it's a gamble too, but after a week of eating (generally the same thing) I like ot leave my options open.
  • Kullerva
    Kullerva Posts: 1,114 Member
    I'm busy (I work, I exercise, I'm tired!) so I have only one meal planning rule, which is the rule of three: Always plan 3 meals ahead.

    Planning all week didn't work for me--a lot of my food isn't great unless it's fresh. So I always plan the next day's food on the previous day. Sometimes I do whip up a batch of something for a week of breakfasts or dinners, but this is rare.

    I also tend to eat the same thing for lunch every day: a protein-enriched peanut butter wrap, an apple, a yogurt, and a cheese stick. The component parts mean I can snack if I'm hungry before lunch and the high protein content helps keep me full.

    I also allow myself one unstructured meal per week. Unstructured does not mean "cheat" or "uncounted," it means I don't have to plan it in advance. I *do* still work it into my calories/macros...mostly.
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